Knight Monsters Falter Late Against KC, Lose 2-1
November 24, 2024 - ECHL (ECHL)
Tahoe Knight Monsters News Release
Tahoe Knight Monsters' Cal Kiefiuk on game night
(Tahoe Knight Monsters)
STATELINE, NV- The first series sweep in franchise history is going to have to wait a bit.
Tahoe fell 2-1 to Kansas City in a contest that felt more action-packed than the final score would indicate. Blake Christensen scored his first goal of the season, Jordan Papirny made 37 saves, but it wasn't enough against KC netminder Victor Ostman and a defense that bent but didn't break.
The Mavericks struck first early on a Cade Borchardt strike just under 90 seconds into the game. It was the first time Kansas City had scored first in the series, and it proved to be the only goal of the game through 40+ minutes.
In the second period, both teams had multiple special teams opportunities but could not convert. KC had over six minutes of power play time in the first ten minutes of the frame, but were stonewalled by Papirny at every turn.
The Knight Monsters had two power play chances of their own, but they were unable to solve Ostman either. Even though the first two periods had only one combined goal, there were plenty of highlight reel saves by both goaltenders.
Tahoe began the third period by killing off 42 seconds of power play time. But Luke Loheit doubled the Mavericks lead six minutes later on a fantastic wrist shot through traffic that beat Papirny clean.
The score would remain 2-0 for the next ten minutes, but in an aggressive move, Tahoe head coach Alex Loh pulled Papirny with over four minutes to go. Blake Christensen scored off a rebound from a Troy Loggins one-timer to cut the deficit in half.
That goal revitalized the crowd of 3,289 Knight Monsters fans, and gave Tahoe a fighting chance. Their chances got even better when Max Andreev took a double minor for high-sticking Adam Pitters.
But with his team 6-on-4 with two minutes to go, Blake Christensen took an offensive zone holding penalty, effectively ending Tahoe's chances of tying up the game late.
Even with this loss, taking two of three against Kansas City is no small feat. The Mavericks are one of the best teams in the Mountain Division. But the loss highlights some of the consistency issues that still need to be ironed out as the season goes on for Tahoe.
Coming up for the Knight Monsters is an extended road stretch that includes trips to Idaho, Texas, and Tulsa. It's their first real road trip of the season, as they have played 11 of their first 13 games at home to start the year.
The puck drops in Idaho on Wednesday November 27 at 6:10 pm. And don't forget, after every Knight Monsters home game check out a postgame party at AleWorX Stateline for wood-fired pizza, self-serve beer, and great scenery.
#TessTheWaters
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 Tahoe Knight Monsters' Cal Kiefiuk on game night |
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